Delhi Field Operations
Gross production at Delhi in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2015 was 6,328 barrels of oil per day ("BOPD"), up 2% from the third fiscal quarter's 6,203 BOPD. Production volumes net to the Company were 1,677 BOPD and 1,644 BOPD, respectively. Production from the field is expected to average in excess of 6,000 BOPD until we add projected volumes from the NGL extraction plant in the second half of calendar 2016, and complete the roll-out of the remaining phases of the CO2 project in subsequent years. We expect production growth to continue well into the next decade.
Our ownership in the Delhi field project has served the company well in this challenging industry environment. Oil production from the field receives favorable Light Louisiana Sweet crude oil pricing, which continues to trade at a significant premium to the industry standard WTI price, and our low pipeline transportation costs are also a competitive advantage. Additionally, our cost of purchased CO2 in the Delhi field, the majority component of operating costs, is mostly driven by the price of oil in the field, therefore our major operating cost has dropped substantially with the price of crude. We have also seen reductions in other field operating costs as the operator has focused on initiatives to lower field operating expenses.
The plans and purchases for construction of the NGL plant are underway and we are anticipating startup next summer. The plant has a total estimated cost of $24.6 million net to Evolution, of which approximately $5.0 million had been incurred as of June 30, 2015. Our June 30, 2015 reserves report includes projected peak proved production gross volumes of approximately 1,850 barrels of liquids per day from the NGL plant over the next five years, and peak probable gross volumes of an additional 1,140 barrels of liquids per day later next decade. As previously announced, the methane recovered by the plant will be used to generate electricity and other power requirements for the field, which will substantially reduce field operating costs. The NGL plant is also expected to increase the efficiency of the CO2 flood due to the removal of methane from the recycle gas stream, and our reserves report reflects incremental gross crude oil production volumes of up to 500 BOPD once the plant is operational.
Of particular importance, remaining future development costs amount to only $9.34 per BOE for proved undeveloped reserves and $4.89 for probable undeveloped reserves, making continued development
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economical even at current oil prices. Looking forward, the timing of plans for continued development of the eastern part of the Delhi field is dependent on the plans for capital allocation by the partners. We continue to believe that these high quality and economically viable projects will be executed as planned, subject to oil price volatility.
AI
